Recycling not a total waste

The recycling system at Stellenbosch University (SU) is a complex animal, and many students don’t know where their cast-away coffee cups, food containers and plastic bottles end up. There are, however, statistics to answer these questions.

About 40%, or 41 496kg, of the total waste that passed through the SU main campus during Feb ruary 2019 was “recovered”. This is from a total amount of 103 093kg of waste produced by the campus. This statistic takes on quite a serious air if it is considered that only 16% of that total amount was recycled material, with the remaining 24% being so-called “organic waste”. During February, approximately 61 tonnes of waste produced (60% of the total) went straight to the landfill.

Waste produced on campus is gathered from various collection points situated on and around campus by WastePlan, a South African company specialising in commercial and industrial waste management and recycling services. This waste is mainly collected via the three-bin system, where clear bags are used for recyclable materials, black bags for non-recyclables and green bags for food waste and composting.

From here the bags are taken to WastePlan’s Stellenbosch Main Recovery Facility (MRF) and organic/food waste is sent to Agri-Protein, where it is used for fly larvae farming. At the MRF, all bags are opened and further sorted through. Although black bags are destined for the landfill, they are searched for any salvageable recyclables. It is here that the SU recycling system runs into a considerable hiccup.

According to Freddie Wentzel, Stellenbosch MRF manager, contamination of waste is a major problem. To explain, Wentzel opened a few bags that were collected at the MRF for Die Matie inspect. All the clear bags opened by Wentzel were “contaminated”, which meant that all possible recyclables contained therein were rendered unrecyclable, due to the mixing of food waste and other substances like coffee with the recyclable materials in the bag. According to Wentzel this is the case with most “recyclable” bags.

He added that coffee cups are especially problematic in these cases. A simple coffee cup spilling leftover coffee over recyclable material is enough to render a bag contaminated and unfit for recycling by MRF. Contaminated bags are sent to the landfill along with black bags. Some recyclables are salvaged from contaminated bags, but Wentzel said that these were mostly plastics and cans.

Official spreadsheets provided to Die Matie by Thulani Mhlontlo, WastePlan National Data Supervisor, show that the percentage of general waste sent to landfill was especially high during the months of August, September, October and November of last year, a peak time in campus activity.

In August last year, the percentage of total waste sent to landfill was 64%, followed by 61% in September, 71% in October and 72% in November. The average total amount of waste documented for these months was 114 704kg per month. A landfill site just outside of Stellenbosch is used. It is however, set to close in two years when it fills to its maximum waste capacity.

According to John de Wet, Manager: Environmental Sustainability at Facilities Management, the closing of the landfill could pose a potential problem.

“The waste will then have to be transported very far and that will cost a lot more money,” he said. “It sounds like it [the new landfill site] is going to be near Atlantis. Transport is going to cost a lot more.”

According to De Wet, this is one of the reasons why Facilities Management has set the goal to reach a stage where all waste is sorted, with 80% being recycled and only 20% going to the landfill.

“This is a goal we want to reach over five years starting this year. We did scale down on awareness campaigns over the past two years but we are going to pick it up this year. This has a lot to do with behavioural change, so we have to inform everyone on how the system works, so that we can send less waste to the landfill.”

He added that Facilities Management wants to reduce the impact on the environment as well.

Dannica Pedro, who works in the Sustainability Department at Facilities Management, said that waste on campus, firstly, must be reduced.

“Secondly, reuse items such as water bottles as much as possible. Our last resort is to recycle. We urge everyone to reduce the amount of single-use plastics being generated. This will make a huge impact.”

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GVB Protest Opinions

Paballo Thabethe

“I feel so strongly this. Because I personally come from a background where my mom was abused, all of this triggers a lot of emotions. I feel so strongly about this topic, and about asking Stellenbosch to stand up, because Stellenbosch was usually a university that barricaded such issues. I feel like the fact that we are out here, speaking about it, is a step in the right direction.”

Leo Figueira

“For me, it was very apparent that there were not a lot of men, and specifically white men, at this rally. That is the main thing that, as a white man, stood out for me. The lack of concern on the faces of the management was also very clear. The general anger, fear, frustration and anxiety was very apparent, and I think it came out in a way that it needed to come out. This will hopefully resonate with the rest of the community.”

Elode Duvenhage

“I feel like the management, at times, was not listening or engaging. There was no understanding. In a way I do understand that it is horrible to be screamed at by students and then having to respond, but just trying to show a little more sympathy would have been nicer. Another question is: how come they are only listening to us now? This started years ago, and these issues shouldn’t be dealt with now, on the last day of the third term. Also, and many people brought this up, this is a situation where students must choose between human rights or marks. It is not fair to place that on students who want both.”

Kaiser Aryee

“I was initially playing devil’s advocate, because I thought that this is an educational institution, and if there is no major obstruction, we should continue as normal. But as I got here and the officials addressed us, I felt that there was a sense of apathy – I don’t think they are on the ground enough with students, and that is what they get paid for. I can’t play devil’s advocate as much as I previously could. Our officials can definitely do more for us. We need more engagement with students. I am sick of emails – it is the most impersonal way to address people. I feel like, as a leader, you should be able to use your critical thinking skills, which you should have if you are in that position, to think up solutions – you can’t just go in circles when people are dissatisfied.”

Mieke Verster

“Administratively, the students are more prepared than the management. This is not right, because obviously it is our jobs at university to study, to learn and gain knowledge, and it is theirs to look after us. And I can understand the frustration of students – but of course, it is also frustrating when the crowd starts to talk in circles. I think we need to channel that energy into finding solutions – not because it is our job as students, but because, clearly it is not happening.”

Anon.

“I feel like the management should have supported us more – like, for example, by organising transport to protests. I also think that residence heads should have been here today. I feel like they are making it a you-problem. They could also have given better options for people missing assessments to go to the protests. I am from the biggest female residence, and I can tell you now that only a small fraction of us are present today.”